


Tikki, claws out!

by PerditaAlottachocolate



Series: The Party universe [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A sequel to The Party, Bad Luck, Bug!Adrien, Chat!Marinette, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Kwami Swap, Laddiebug, Miraculouses disrupted, No Such Luck, Post Reveal, Some Mild Angst, good luck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-15 08:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11226732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerditaAlottachocolate/pseuds/PerditaAlottachocolate
Summary: When Marinette accidentally utters Chat Noir’s transformation spell things get messy. Now the two main miraculouses are blocked due to disruption of quantum signatures. Long story short Marinette can no longer transform into Ladybug, Chat Noire is her only option now. As a consequence Adrien gets reassigned, no longer Chat, but suddenly able to transform into… Laddiebug. Kwami swap, a sequel to “The Party”.





	1. No such luck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a sequel to another story of mine – “The Party”. 
> 
> You probably do not need to read that one to enjoy this one, although it would make some things more understandable. Also I was told “The Party” was a rather good piece of fanfiction, so…
> 
> Anyway… Do you remember the ending of Chapter 11 “The closet” from that story? When after her sassy comeback to Adrien’s downpour of puns Plagg states he likes Marinette and jokingly asks Tikki to swap holders? JustAnotherCuriousKat from AO3 – suggested a kwami swap scene in their comment, and I was struck on the spot with inspiration. This is the result. So any complains go to CuriousKat ;P 
> 
> Just kidding, this is all on me xD

It was really nobody’s fault, although Plagg of course blamed his charge.

Adrien and Marinette were getting accustomed to the post reveal reality, and despite their best intentions things still were a little (okay, _a lot)_ awkward, especially out of suits and without any imminent threats that required flawless teamwork. Ladybug and Chat Noir were good at teamwork. Extremely good. But it went as far as akumas were considered. Other than that Marinette and Adrien sucked at being together (at least according to Plagg).

Currently their relationship was stuck somewhere between classmates, teammates, friends and ‘something more’. Some promises and declarations were made, hands were held meaningfully, hugs and shy pecks on cheeks were exchanged. And even though the two of them were making progress, it was painfully slow, awkward and – if someone would bother to ask Plagg – sickeningly saccharine.

It was the first time after the fateful party when Marinette and Adrien actually both had time outside of suits just to hang out at Marinette’s – only the two of them, not doing anything in particular (Adrien stressed countless number of times, that it was definitely _not_ a date, no matter what Plagg said). Marinette (who as Adrien declared countless number of times, was definitely _not_ his girlfriend, no matter what Plagg said) was working on her newest design, Tikki dozed off on the loft bed and Plagg was keeping her company and munching on a piece of cheesecake.

Adrien however was getting restless, pacing around Marinette’s room and thinking out loud about quantum magic. He had that strange idea that they should explore all the possibilities of that branch to make more of their transformations, and to cooperate better, knowing what the other one was capable of. Secretly he was thrilled to finally have someone other that Plagg to talk about miraculouses, secret identities and such.

This time Plagg listened intently to Adrien’s antics. Somehow he was having a bad feeling about this. He nudged Tikki but she was fast asleep and snoring. The little cat turned his ears to his Chosen.

Adrien was telling Marinette about his own transformation, switching between drowning her with words and shooting questions at her. Soon the girl tuned him out, focused mostly on her sewing. To keep the conversation going she randomly hummed or echoed his words.

‘So, if I want to transform I have to address Plagg by name, right? You do the same with Tikki?’

‘Mhm.’ Marinette hummed noncommittaly.

‘But I can use a few wordings, like different versions of ‘transform’.’ Adrien was explaining the obvious.

‘Yup, different versions.’

‘There’s also a separate command about drawing claws,’ To Plagg’s relief his charge purposefully avoided the correct wording not to trigger his transformation at the moment.

‘Claws? What do you say then?’

‘I can’t tell you now or I’ll transform,’ Adrien chuckled.

‘Right, right. Um, sorry,’ Marinette also gave a little laugh. ‘Can you write it down, tough? I’m just curious,’ she added.

‘Well, my Lady. They say curiosity killed the cat,’ Adrien replied with a wink as he took a piece of paper and a pencil from her desk. ‘But since you’re not a cat, I guess there’s no harm in that.’

And before Plagg was able to swallow the piece of cheesecake in his mouth and explain the importance of keeping the transformation spell a secret, Marinette was already looking at the correct wording.

‘Adrien, no!’ Plagg launched himself from his spot on the loft bed. ‘Marinette, DO NOT read that!’ he yelled, at the same moment as the girl zeroed her gaze on the words and read the spell, wondering how it would roll off her tongue.

‘ _Plagg… claws… out…_ ~’

In an instant a green glow appeared around her earrings. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a black blur approaching her with high velocity and heard Plagg screaming his lungs out.

‘Noooo!!! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!’ the black kwami yelled as he was dragged through the room and sucked inside Marinette’s earrings. Greenish light engulfed her body from head to toe. Adrien watched in horror as she stumbled backwards surrounded by the miraculous glow and toppled over her chaise lounge with a loud crash.  

‘Marinette!’ he cried and rushed to help her up. A black glove caught his extended hand and Chat Noire emerged from behind the chaise, extremely confused.

Her suit looked exactly like Chat’s – the tail swooshed behind her back, the cat ears dropped in embarrassment. The baton was resting on her lower back. But there was no ring on her right hand – she had the earrings instead. They were black, with green paw-prints on them. Her dark hair were still split into pigtails, held with electric-green ribbons, and her now cattish eyes glowed sapphire instead of emerald.

‘Wow!’ Adrien exclaimed. He circled the black clad girl to take a better look. ‘Woooow!’ he whispered once again in awe. Mari was right at the party – that look really was great on her. Suddenly the room was really hot and stuffy. Adrien had to sit down.

‘A-adrien. How the hell has this happened?!’ Marinette groaned looking at her body in black suit. ‘Am I a cat now?!’

‘Oh, yessss,’ was all that Adrien’s brain was able to conjure up. ‘You look… you look just… woooow…’

‘Um, thank you?’ Marinette blushed but she felt really flattered. She approached Adrien swinging her tail with her hand and swaying her hips in such way, that Adrien was sure he was going to pass out. He was mesmerized. He was entranced, the vision of Marinette in tight black suit filling all his world. The coy smile she was giving him reduced him to a smitten kitten. And that was exactly the reason why he did what he did.

‘I can’t believe it! You just said it, and whoosh, you’re Chat Noire!’

‘I know, Adrien. I was there,’ Marinette chuckled amused with his excitement.

‘I mean, who would have thought!? So, do you think I will transform into Laddiebug if I say “ _Tikki, spots on_ ”? ~…’

It was supposed to be a joke. But with a stroke of bad-luck he got that one just right. As soon as Adrien voiced the spell, he felt a strange pull in his ring finger. His miraculous glowed red and he heard Tikki’s confused voice mumbling ‘Wha… hapn’g…?’ while she soared towards him from the bed in a red haze. At the last moment she caught the side of the chaise trying not to be sucked into the ring. ‘Oh, nooooooo!!!’ she wailed as she lost her grip and vanished inside the miraculous.

Instantly a reddish light swept over Adrien and when it faded away… there stood Laddiebug, in his red suit with black dots, with a red mask on his face and a yoyo at his hip. The thatch of blond hair was still there, though it grew a little now covering his ears. No earrings on him, but his ring was now red, with five black dots, where previously the paw-print had been.

The boy took a dive to the mirror but soon sighed in disappointment.

‘No pigtails,’ he complained. ‘I was counting on the pigtails.’

Chat approached the mirror herself, inspecting their reflection.

‘Well, this is interesting,’ she snickered putting her elbow on Bug’s shoulder. ‘I don’t want to be anywhere near our kwami when you explain all that to them.’

‘Huh!?’ Adrien gasped in mock hurt. ‘As far as I recall it was you, who caused this mess. But hey, you won’t hear Ladybug’s number one fan complaining about this,’ he gestured to his attire. ‘You know, we look even better than at the party!?’

‘I told you that suit should’ve been mine, Bug,’ Marinette tapped Adrien slightly on the nose and he in turn rang the bell under her chin.

‘Like I said, you won’t find me complaining,’ he countered eyeing her suit with a shameless grin.

‘Oh my god, how could I ever think it was Plagg’s influence! You’re just incorrigible flirt!’ Marinette nudged him in the ribs.

‘Only with you, _Mon Minou_. Only with you!’ Adrien murmured playfully. He took her hand and brushed it lightly with his lips not for one moment breaking eye contact.

A strange sound reverberated in Chat’s throat. Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her other hand.

Adrien raised a brow, mirth written all over his face. ‘Was that a…?’

‘No, it wasn’t!’ Marinette’s denial came out slightly muffled as her mouth was still covered.

The boy gave a little chuckle and gently stroked her hand with his thumb eliciting another vibrant sound from her.

‘Yes, it was!’ he exclaimed. ‘You’re purring, _Mon Minou_!’

Yet before Marinette could die of embarrassment both the ring and the earrings gave a warning beep, prompting them to drop the transformation.

 

***

 

‘You broke it!’ Plagg, pissed like hell, yelled at the top of his voice head-butting the ring on Adrien’s finger. ‘Ten thousand years of peace and then you just barge in and break it! It was my home!’

Tikki tried to rub soothing circles on the black cat’s back. ‘Plagg, you’re not a genie, for heaven’s sake. Calm down.’

‘Just let me in, you stupid thing!’ the little god was boiling with rage and frustration. Yet no amount of hollering, complaining, head-butting and threats could make the ring let Plagg inside again. No matter how many times Adrien cried ‘Plagg, claws out!’ the miraculous stayed Plagg-proof, granting access only to Tikki after Ladybug’s incantation.

The same went for the earrings. They were not letting the red sprite in anymore, responding only to Plagg now whenever Marinette uttered the spell summoning black cat’s transformation.

The heroes were seated on the chaise, looking infinitely dumbfounded and guilty. When they de-transformed it all seemed like a really good joke. It took some time for them to stop giggling and listed to Plagg’s accusations. It was easy to ignore his rant, he did that a lot and about just anything. But when Tikki responded with concern and anxiety they finally got the message. It was serious. Very, very serious.

Somehow each miraculous got blocked. Tikki speculated it had something to do with disrupting quantum signatures. The memory of the miraculouses got wiped out and overwritten the moment wrong kwami entered the jewels.

There was nothing they could do by themselves, thus it was decided to seek out Master Fu’s advice the next day. In the meantime the afternoon turned into evening and Adrien’s car pulled over the bakery to drive him home.

The final conundrum was the sudden kwami incompatibility. Marinette was no longer compatible with Tikki, as now only Plagg could enter her miraculous. Technically she was also no longer Ladybug, but this was a secondary problem. In order to transform into a hero, she needed Plagg. And if Adrien was to keep the ability to change into Laddiebug, he needed Tikki with him.

‘We need to swap holders, Tikki,’ Plagg pointed out, exasperated and acid at the turn of events.

‘It seems so, yes,’ the red kwami agreed. It was the only logical conclusion. ‘Hopefully Master Fu will sort it out tomorrow and all will go back to normal.’ She sighed. She liked Adrien a lot, he was a really nice boy. But even though Marinette was her charge for only a couple of months, she still was Tikki’s Chosen. The red sprite grew accustomed to the girl and loved her with all of her tiny kwami heart. They were a good team and good friends. Tikki was saddened to leave Marinette with the grumpy old sourpuss that went by the name of Plagg. But there was no other choice and no time to spare as Adrien’s bodyguard was already knocking on the bakery door. Tikki bid her goodbye nuzzling Marinette’s cheek and hid in Adrien’s pocket.

‘Good night, guys!’ Adrien gave Marinette a half-hug and then hesitantly leaned forward to peck her lightly on the cheek. She blushed of course, but Adrien’s face wasn’t really any better. Then the boy patted Plagg on the head and waved a finger in front of his nose. ‘I want you to be on your best behavior, Plagg,’ he warned the black kwami.

‘I don’t know what you’re getting at,’ the little cat sneered. ‘I’m always on my best behavior.’

‘You know what I mean,’ Adrien lowered his voice. ‘No nagging about cheese, no wangling any cheese and no eating cheese in bed either!’

Marinette shuddered at that. ‘Ewww! He really does that?!’

‘Shame on you, Plagg,’ Tikki scolded her partner.

‘Okay, okay, I will behave, I promise.’ Plagg grumbled. ‘Happy now?’

‘I will be, when I get you back, buddy,’ Adrien stroked the little cat one last time, and left. When the trapdoor closed after him the black sprite released a resigned sigh and plopped himself on top of Marinette’s phone.

‘Well, I hope you remember how it was like before the goddess of luck appeared in your life, because let me tell you girl, with this god of misfortune you’re in for a treat,’ he muttered.

Marinette decided to show him some positive attitude. Maybe it would cheer him up a bit.

‘Oh, I’m sure everything will be all right. It’s not like we have an akuma to fight, right?’ she chirped happily. As soon as those words left her mouth Plagg felt his butt vibrate. He flew up and read the notification on the phone.

‘Well guess what, missy, no such luck!’  he snorted pointing at the screen where the words “Ladyblog: Akuma alert” flashed in red font.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, let me know, if you liked it? 
> 
> This author really appreciates your comments, kudos and other signs of appreciation and really likes to know what you think!  
> All this keeps the chapters coming ;)
> 
> Also come and bother me on tumblr - perditaalottachocolate-blog.tumblr.com - I post sneak peeks of chapters I'm working on and share miraculous fics and art.


	2. The luck of a black cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU  
> ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡  
> You've absolutely swept me off my feet with your reactions to this story! I still consider myself a beginner but I'm literally over the moon thanks to you!  
> ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡  
> I hope you'll like the second chapter. Don't forget to let me know.

_ladyblog.fr_

_entry: Sunday, June 16_ _th_

_author: Alya Cesaire_

_type of entry: akuma attack_

_date of occurrence: Saturday, June 15_ _th_

_akuma: Party Pooper_

_on scene: Ladybug, Chat Noir_

_lucky charm: unknown_

_source: anonymous_

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_Greetings Bugheads!_

_Last night Paris endured another akuma attack boldly deflected by Ladybug and Chat Noir. Unfortunately this time yours truly had fallen victim to the Akuma's powers and had to rely fully on other reports. Due to the nature, but also time and place of the attack no footage is available. The action took place late in the evening and with poor light which made it practically impossible to register any video material._

_The Akuma called themselves Party Pooper and turned out to be an annoyed neighbor who had to suffer through too many student parties recently. They were very keen on confiscating alcohol and their main power was the ability to put people to sleep. This power was also partly responsible for the lack of coverage as all the witnesses snoozed as soon as they were spotted by the Akuma (including your favorite blogger)._

_The details of defeating Party Pooper are unknown, the only clear thing is that it took much longer than average, even though the Akuma didn't seem to posses any powers difficult to deflect. Without any direct reports it is impossible to speculate on the reasons of this turn of events._

_Many thanks to anonymous users who provided the reports. Thank you for your contribution._

_Stay connected!_

_Alya Cesaire_

 

***

 

Marinette was slowly making her way to Master Fu's parlor, zombie style. She shambled, her shoulders hunched, with half-lidded eyes blinking constantly. She was yawning so wide that Plagg was expecting her jaw to fall off anytime.

'Oi, lass! Stop sleepwalking! You nearly hit that lamppost over there!' The black sprite hissed from her purse. He had yet to get over the fact that he was traveling in a pink girly bag reeking of chocolate chip, but Marinette refused to let him hide anywhere on herself.

'Stop nagging me, PlaaA-A-Aaagg.' The girl yawned in response. 'I'm sleeping,' she mumbled.

'It's nine o'clock. You should have been awake long time ago.' The little cat complained. 'Aren't you bakers' daughter? They're supposed to be up before dawn, you know.'

'Bakers – yes. Daughters – no.' Marinette snapped irritably. 'Daughters who happened to be fighting an Akuma half of the night – definitely not.' She muttered under her breath stopping just in time to avoid being ran over by a car.

'I heard that,' Plagg grumbled. 'And I saw that too. Watch it, girl. I don't want to become marmalade at my age.'

'Everything is under control,' Plagg's current charge mumbled.

'Yeah, right. Like you had it under control last night?' The black cat chuckled.

Marinette stopped and turned to her purse, deadpanned. 'We've agreed to never talk about last night again.'

Plagg sent her a shit-eating grin and was about to retort, when she drawled in a low growl. 'Unless…' The kwami gulped seeing her hitherto sleepy eyes narrowing in defiance, 'Unless you want to go on camembert-free diet. Indefinitely.'

Adrien had threatened Plagg many times with camembert withdrawal but he never had the guts to actually do it, despite all Plagg's shenanigans. So the kwami had learned to ignore such threats. But now looking into Marinette's piercing blue stare he could feel it in his millennia old bones that this was a force to be reckoned with.

The black cat put on his most innocent smile and chirped. 'Last night? I was fast asleep and snoring all the way!'

'That's better,' the girl replied and resumed her stroll towards Master Fu's.

Plagg's attention span, just like any other cat's wasn't exactly long. He got bored pretty quickly.

'Why isn't Adrien joining us?' He asked when he couldn't take the dull sleepy silence anymore. 'What "family emergency" could he have?'

Marinette sighed heavily. What she would give for Adrien to be there with her. Not 24 hours in Plagg's company and she was already fighting the urge to bite his head off. She tried to be understanding and optimistic, but he wasn't making it easy and frankly, after having lousy four hours of sleep she stopped caring.

'Adrien couldn't come because his father requested his presence.' She finally replied.

'Ah, probably another photoshoot or a fitting,' Plagg nodded knowingly.

'Not really,' Marinette's lips curled into a mild smile. 'Apparently Mr. Agreste wanted to spend some quality time with him this Sunday. They were supposed to eat brunch together and then maybe watch a movie or two, play some board games, that kind of thing.'

'Now you're just pulling my leg, lassie,' the black kwami risked a glance from the purse, checking out the sky for flying pigs. 'That kind of thing never happens.'

'It happened today,' the girl shrugged. 'Better late than never, I guess. Adrien really needed that so today we're on our own.'

With that Marinette finally stopped at the front door to the massage parlor. She was about to knock when her gaze fell on a note pinned to the frame.

'Come inside, girl. We haven't got all day,' Plagg chided her from the bag. 'I need to stretch my paws and get some rest from that chocolate bug reek.'

'Master Fu is away.' She said slowly.

'What do you mean he's away?!' Plagg discreetly flew out of his hideout to look at the note himself.

'A trip to China. Family matters,' The girl explained.

'I told you so! The luck of the black cat strikes again!' The little cat muttered ominously pointing an accusatory paw at his replacement charge.

'Plagg, be reasonable. Me and Adrien are in this together.' Marinette tried to calm her kwami down. 'Shouldn't Laddiebug's luck cancel my bad luck?'

'Theoretically,' he replied gravely.

'What do you mean?' she asked carefully.

'I mean,' Plagg mocked her tone, 'he's not here now, is he?'

'Come on. I refuse to believe it works this way,' Plagg's current Chosen snorted. 'You're trying to tell me that if Adrien was here Master Fu wouldn't go to China?!'

'Maybe…' the black sprite replied quietly.

'Maybe?' the girl choked.

Little green eyes were watching her impudently. 'Ever heard of Schrödinger's cat?'

Marinette battered her lashes and asked sweetly, 'Is he a relative?'

 

***

 

 

_ladyblog.fr_

_entry: Monday, June 17_ _th_

_author: Alya Cesaire_

_type of entry: akuma attack_

_date of occurrence: Monday, June 17_ _th_

_akuma: Monday Blues_

_on scene: Ladybug, Chat Noir (eventually)_

_lucky charm: unknown_

_source: anonymous, statement by Prefecture de Police_

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_Greetings Bugheads!_

_New week kicked off with another night time akuma. It seems Hawk Moth finally realized that moths are nocturnal. Although last night showed that neither bugs nor cats are, the latter being somewhat surprising._

_Like last time not many details are known, the occurrence taking place well after midnight with few witnesses, poor light and high above any observation points._

_Our sources reported that this time Ladybug arrived at the scene much earlier, with Chat Noir joining her for the final encounter, but providing next to no support. A witness stated the battle was probably a difficult one as Ladybug stumbled over her feet and many of her yoyo throws missed their targets, which should be probably chalked up to lack of night-vision. Chat Noir who is known to aid the heroine in such circumstances arrived extremely late, tired and in an uncharacteristically snappish mood._

_Most of the battle took place above rooftops and the heroes left right after depositing the unlucky akuma victim in capable hands of police officers._

_As usual a huge thank you to our anonymous informants. Thank you for your contribution._

_Stay connected!_

_Alya Cesaire_

 

***

 

Nino, Alya, Marinette and Adrien sat on a bench in the school yard. Marinette had curled into a little ball of crying mess and trembled slightly from time to time, constantly emitting silent sobs. Adrien was at her side and doing his best to comfort the girl. He tried rubbing circles round her back despite Nino's inquisitive stares. 

Alya sat at the other side of her best friend, staring ahead. She was also shaking a little, her pupils still dilated from previous adrenaline boost. The redhead was taking deep breaths to calm herself down, while Nino patted her hand.

Apart from sobs and breaths the girls kept quiet. The boys exchanged worried glances over their heads.

Finally Alya regained her speech enough to splutter in Marinette's direction. 'Are you trying to get yourself killed?!'

There was a whimper from Marinette in response and Adrien doubled his efforts at calming his almost-girlfriend down. He shot Alya a warning stare, but she didn't notice, apparently still recalling the horrible scene that took place just a few minutes earlier while she continued her rant.

'I mean, yeah, we know you're clumsy and unfocused but this was big even for you!' the blogger shook her head and turned to her friend.

Marinette shrunk even more into herself. Adrien gave up with keeping up the appearances and tried to hug her. Nobody cared – all eyes trained on Marinette.

Meanwhile Alya reached the boiling point. 'It was a freaking bus!' She burst out. 'How the hell could you not see it coming at you?!'

'That's enough, Alya!' Adrien interrupted any further scolding. 'Let's calm down a bit, okay? It was just wrong place and wrong time.' He said in what he hoped was a conciliatory tone. Right now he was fighting the urge to throw his good manners out of the window and just claw Alya like a cat he had been up until recently.

Nino, picking up on the warning growl at the back of Adrien's throat, immediately backed his friend up. 'Yeah, dude. It was just an extreme case of bad luck, is all.'

At that Marinette gave a snort, her head still hidden between her arms. For Nino's ears it sounded suspiciously close to a hiss.

'And,' Nino continued, now slightly uneasy, 'in fact you were lucky Adrien was there. He pulled you out of the way at the last second. That's what I call a stroke of luck, dude,' the boy pointed out. He thought he was being helpful so he was totally taken aback by his friends' reactions.

Because Alya facepalmed, Adrien groaned while Marinette…

Marinette's head emerged slowly from between her shoulders in an almost predatory motion. She casted Adrien a murderous look, her eyes narrowed to slits. The girl released an uncomfortably low rumble and stormed in the direction of the locker room leaving the three of her friends startled and gaping.

 

***

 

_ladyblog.fr_

_entry: Wednesday, June 19_ _th_

_author: Alya Cesaire_

_type of entry: akuma attack_

_date of occurrence: Tuesday, June 18_ _th_

_akuma: unknown_

_on scene: Ladybug, Chat Noir_

_lucky charm: a cheesecake (unused)_

_source: Alya Cesaire_

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

_Greetings Bugheads!_

_Another nighttime akuma showed up on Tuesday evening, courtesy of our most hated super villain.  
I thinks it's safe to say that there seem to be a shift in business hours for Hawk Moth. But it's not the only thing that's new._

_It became obvious that Ladybug and Chat Noir are dealing with some sort of a crisis. As evidenced in last few attacks their teamwork is lacking, their abilities seem to be crippled and the morale is falling. They are still capable enough to bring down the akumatized villains, but they take more time and end up more frustrated than ever._

_Last night only confirmed this trend. Once again the fight took much longer than average, although within the parameters of the last few encounters. Witnesses, who like yours truly were able to observe the fight only from afar, claim that Ladybug had some difficulties in handling her weapon, as she kept tangling herself and sometimes also her partner in her own yoyo. The battle was resolved without any need to apply Lucky Charm, as Chat Noir knocked out the Akuma with a powerful and unexpected throw of his baton, which seemed to be a surprise for himself as well as for Ladybug._

_After Miraculous Cure was released and the damage reverted the heroes once again left in a great hurry, making it impossible to obtain a comment from them._

_One can speculate that the behavior described above might have been a result of the increase in the frequency of attacks and their timing. Apparently Hawk Moth's strategy to wear the heroes down has been successful._

_Let's hope Ladybug and Chat Noir get some chance to rest and will be better prepared next time. The enemy is definitely feeling the summer in the air. We haven't seen anything like that before._

_Stay connected!_

_Alya Cesaire_

_Note: The pictures and videos are of poor quality due to huge distance between my position and the fight._

 

***

 

As soon as the bell rang to lunch break Adrien turned in his seat to address all three of his friends.

'Guys! You wanna hang out this Friday at my place?' he asked excitedly. 'I was hoping you didn't have any plans yet?'

'I thought you had a photoshoot,' Marinette replied grumpily, resting her head on her desk between her folded arms. She'd been showing them a lot of her grouchy side the whole week. Adrien was hoping that his idea to hang out would cheer her up a bit. Clearly something was plaguing her thoughts, and the boy had a very strong suspicion as to what, or rather who was responsible.

'Yeah, not really,' the boy said rubbing the back of his head nervously. 'That got cancelled.'

'What?' Nino burst out. 'Dude, it's a third one in a row! That never happens!'

'It has happened now,' Adrien said with a bashful smile.

'And you're allowed to bring friends to the mansion?' Marinette asked, disbelief dripping from every word.

'Well. Father is in Milan and when Nathalie asked him, he kind of agreed,' her hopeful almost boyfriend admitted with a chuckle. 'I believe he said "Fine, as long as I can't hear them in here. But make sure the house is still there when I get back."'

This earned him a chortle from Nino. 'Bro, since when are you so lucky?'

Adrien shrugged, carefully ignoring a bloodthirsty glare from Marinette.

 

***

 

_ladyblog.fr_

_[*live stream video: Alya Cesaire*]_

_Hi, Bugheads! Alya here! Liveblogging from the very center of action!_

_I'm at the scene while Ladybug and Chat Noir are approaching the Akuma. This is insane! He's shooting them with some sort of magical bullets or something. And all this mist came out of nowhere! I can't really see it clearly from here but I'm gonna try to get a better view, so stay tuned for the huge scoop to come! Whoo-_

_[*live stream video froze*]_

 

' –psie... Shoot!' Alya dropped her phone when it got hit with a bullet. She suddenly realized she got herself directly into the firing line. Not good. She wasn't particularly eager to test the theory that if someone got killed as a result of the akuma attack, Miraculous Cure would bring them back. But on the other hand she was determined to get to the bottom of the strange behavior displayed lately by the heroes.

Suddenly she felt strong but slender arm at her waist and in the next second she was lifted off the ground and onto the nearest rooftop. Someone was holding her tightly pressed back-to-chest and running for cover. That someone, Alya realized, was no other than Chat Noir. But something was off about him.

Alya wasn't ashamed to admit that she often got herself into trouble with akumas. That was a risk every student at Françoise Dupont was exposed to, as this collège was apparently Hawk Moth's favorite recruiting point (not to mention Chloé's unintended yet constant efforts to support his case). It actually turned out to be a perk for Alya – the founder and blogger of the famous Ladyblog. The fearless and, let's be honest – unimaginative when it came to judging risks – redhead usually rushed after the Akumas with her phone at the ready, not caring in the slightest about her own safety, but always anxious to capture the biggest scoop. This was the reason she was quite accustomed to being saved by either Ladybug or Chat Noir and she prided herself on knowing the duo better than any other journalist or blogger could. So when Alya sensed something was wrong with Chat Noir, she had every reason to believe it was a fact.

Although apparently still in possession of super strength, the black clad hero seemed to be smaller than at their previous close encounter. His hands were definitely downsized and slimmer too. And when Alya started to register other differences she realized that although Chat seemed to shrunk in height there were a few places where there was considerably more of him – like for example in the chest regions that Alya was currently being pressed to. Suddenly she felt very uncomfortable despite the unexpected softness of the aforementioned regions.

Chat Noir slowed down as the sounds of the battle ceased and after a flash of light the swarms of ladybugs started swishing through the air around them. For a moment Alya thought that maybe they would change Chat back into his previous shape, but then she remembered that the last akuma didn't have such powers to alter people's appearance. Her journalist streak immediately smelled a rat.

The girl was gently deposited on the rooftop, while Chat turned his back to her and looked in the direction in which the ladybugs disappeared. There was a familiar swoosh of a yoyo and Ladybug joined them.

'You okay?' She asked, panting heavily. Alya felt a shiver going down her spine at how low Ladybug's voice was. Even with a sore throat it shouldn't be possible for her to sound like that.

'Yes!' Chat Noir squeaked in reply as Ladybug approached him and pulled him in for a hug. The feline hero hugged her back, but quickly whispered in her ear, 'We've got company.'

The red clad heroine immediately pulled away, looking at her ring which just gave the first warning.

Wait, her ring?!

Now the blogger finally started paying careful attention to the details and catalogued anything she found.

Ladybug didn't have her trademark pigtails anymore. Her hair changed in style, color and length. She had a ring on her right hand. And she was definitely taller and less curvy than Alya remembered, but instead she somehow gained broader and heftier shoulders that instantly brought a blush to the redhead's cheeks. Gaping the girl turned her gaze to Chat…

… who had traded his blond mane for midnight-blue pigtails held with green ribbons and his right hand was lacking a ring. Alya immediately looked at Chat's ears only to discover black earrings with green paw-print adorning them. Chat's hips had become pleasantly curved and his chest... apparently got equipped with two very nice breasts, heaving under the black suit as Chat tried not to hyperventilate at Alya's impromptu comparative study. Ladybug, her face matching her suit in color, was doing her best not to ogle her partner and failing spectacularly.

The blogger once again surveyed the scene before voicing her conclusion, 'What the hell?!'

Ladybug flashed her a toothy grin, 'Summer exchange?' she ventured in a delightful tenor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me just remind you – this author really appreciates your kudos, comments and laughs. They keep the chapters coming!


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